Born in Turin, Martina began dancing at the age of six at the Dance Steps school in Trofarello, under the direction of Cristina Trinchero. In 2000, she was awarded a scholarship to join the prestigious English National Ballet School in London, then directed by Kathryne Wade. There, she completed a two-year professional training programme under Francine Richard, Antony Dowson, and Jean Pascal Cabardos, graduating with both a dance diploma and a certification in “Benesh Movement Notation”.
Her professional debut took place with the European Ballet in London, directed by Stanislav Tchassov, in the production of “Cinderella”.
In February 2003, at just 18 years old, Martina joined the Scottish Ballet under the artistic direction of Ashley Page. From her earliest seasons, she performed leading roles in several of the director’s contemporary works, including Cheating, Lying, Stealing, Soft Underbelly, and Fearful Symmetries, as well as in major classical productions such as Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Alice.
Promoted to the rank of Coryphée in 2006, she continued to expand her repertoire, performing soloist roles in works by George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Krzysztof Pastor, and Kenneth MacMillan. During her nearly decade-long career with the Scottish Ballet, many roles were created especially for her.
In 2009, the British choreographer Richard Alston created Carmen for the company and entrusted her with the principal role. In the same year, for her performance, she was nominated for the National Dance Awards (Critics’ Circle) in London in the category “Best Classical Performance in the United Kingdom,” and was subsequently promoted to Soloist.
In 2011, the year in which she was appointed to the prestigious rank of Principal Dancer, she left the Scottish Ballet to join Aterballetto under the direction of Cristina Bozzolini and resident choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti.
Since then, her contemporary repertoire has expanded to include works by Bigonzetti, Jiří Kylián, Hofesh Shechter, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Andonis Foniadakis, Jiří Pokorný, Giuseppe Spota, Diego Tortelli, Michele Di Stefano, and many others.